Fuelling Imagination Of Young Empathetic Innovators Of India

Recently many cars collided on Mathura road, because they could not see the accident ahead due to fog. This could have been avoided if the idea of Gayathri and Pranav from Naval school, Kochi, Kerala, had been implemented in vehicles. They suggested that whenever a two-wheeler (for that matter, any vehicle) meets with an accident, an emergency light should start flickering along with an alarm so that vehicles approaching the spot could be alerted. Auto-manufactures to take note. In the earlier years, we have received many ideas to improve auto sector from safety perspective, such as window panes coming down automatically when carbon dioxide levels goes up and children or elderly are inside car, with doors closed and a/c on. NIF fab-lab team had made a prototype made and show cases at Festival of Innovation exhibition earlier. Similarly, if a driver smells of alcohol, a smell sensor will disconnect ignition and car will not start. Insurance company should invest in such innovations. Three girls from Latur had earlier submitted an idea, searchable at Techepdia.sristi.org for a black box for car so that in the event of unfortunate accident, insurance company can get data on driver’s performance and diligence. A lot of undue payments for reckless driving can be avoided and irresponsible behaviour can be restrained.

Winter is approaching and many people, unwell or old or even others, wish to be covered with a blanket when temperature dips during the middle of the night. It will be possible now if the idea of Govind from Grambharati school, Gandhinagar, Gujarat, is implemented in the design of the beds, particularly for patients and old people. This happens more so during late October-November when winter just starts approaching. If you are as concerned about environmental conservation as Nagpur’s Manodnya is, you would not fly kite next time without a small pouch of seeds attached to it. When the kite gets cut, seeds will be dispersed randomly and make the earth greener. Children get many infections because they don’t wash their hands before/after eating food. But not anymore, if Delhi student Shereen’s idea becomes a national policy and every lunch box is imprinted with the statutory advice: “Wash your hands before you eat food (and after food, inside the box)”.

President Pranab Mukherjee and former Chief Minister of Gujarat, Anandiben Patel felicitating Tarna Joy at IGNITE Awards, 2015, for his idea on devising a large shareable umbrella.

These and many more ideas from around the country, from Andaman Islands to Jammu and Kashmir will be displayed at the Rashtrapati Bhavan on November 7, 2016. The Honourable President Shri Pranab Mukherjee will honour 31 creative and innovative children with Dr A P J Abdul Kalam IGNITE Awards 2016, selected by National Innovation Foundation (NIF), India. Of over 55,000 ideas, collected largely by the volunteers of the Honey Bee Network (HBN), selecting only a few for the award was not easy. It is ironical that while among children, the share of girls is almost half, i.e. 13, but among grown up innovators, it goes down drastically. Institutional space for expressing women’s creativity and innovation obviously needs to be expanded.

President Pranab Mukherjee and former Chief Minister of Gujarat, Anandiben Patel felicitating them at IGNITE Awards, 2015.

The invigorated efforts of the government to curb black money may get a fillip if the idea of Madhur Gupta, Chandigarh, to print QR codes on high-denomination currency notes is experimented with. Dr A P J Abdul Kalam IGNITE 2016 competition is organised annually by NIF to recognize original technological ideas and innovations by children up to Standard XII or those out of school up to the age of 17 years. This year, the students from 25 districts, 16 states and Union Territories will be awarded for their ideas/innovations out of 55000 submissions received from 458 districts of the country.

The Honey Bee Network is growing in the hearts of thousands of children to kindle the spirit of creativity, compassion and collaboration, vital for making India truly an inclusive society. NIF not only recognizes these children but also files patents in their name, helps convert their ideas into prototypes and facilitates their diffusion through market and non-market channels.

What are you waiting for creative children? Submit your ideas for IGNITE 2017 competition at ignite@nifindia.org. Why not become a volunteer of HBN and persuade your parents to do so too, and help spread the flame of inclusive innovation in all the corners of the country and the world?